The Rain Outside
by Munku-JGSPTV
Summary: Rei has practically no money, and works in a Thai restauraunt all day to earn enough to live. The Hiwatari family is perhaps the richest in existence. So why does Rei find Kai, heir to..well, EVERYTHING, trying to break in to his apartment? AU
1. Tonight

**The Rain Outside**

Note: Rei and Kai have never met before in their lives. There is no beyblading. And if you've read the summary - Rei has no idea who the Hiwatari family are.

This chapter is only prologue length, and they get progressively longer from here.

Review and I'll try to review yours.

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Tonight

Rei wiped up the last empty table in the restaurant. He had already been told to go home for the night – he had been feeling sick lately – but he needed the money. At least he liked his job. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to stand the many hours he slaved over Thai dishes and served parents screaming at their children.

Well, the only reason he liked his job was because of the other people he worked with; they were a great bunch. After a third time of his boss telling him to go home and get some rest, Rei only had an hour of his shift left, and soon that hour diminished into the last five minutes he was occupying by cleaning up.

Just as he scrubbed the last of some penang curry from the hard surface of the table, the clock next to the menu signs ticked to 9pm.

Not having enough energy to jump in the air and give a woot of excitement at his shift finally being over, Rei merely flipped the scrubbing cloth over his shoulder and tossed it in the back kitchens for washing.

He grabbed his small backpack and stretched as he waited outside the office of his boss to let her know he was leaving. Someone else was currently in there; probably Lee once again arguing over the wastage of serviettes by customers with babies.

Rei could vaguely see through the window of the small office's door. Yep – there was the back of Lee's head.

He could be waiting outside the room for a while if he was going to let Lee finish. Instead, Rei quickly knocked on the door, poked his head on the door, caught the boss's eye and said 'I'm finished for the night now' and shut the door before Lee could start complaining about the interruptions of other staff to his own cooking and cleaning duties.

Rei could have sworn he saw his boss smiling.

Rei was practically exhausted by the time he reached his apartment building. His bus had been late, again, for only the 5000th time in the entire history of buses, and his hair kept getting caught in his bag's shoulder strap.

Now more than a bit past his shoulder, Rei had taken to tying up his raven strokes of hair, mostly because work required him to, but also because it was easier to manage. He thought of the impracticality of growing it long, and every so often when he went to a hairdresser's he went with the mind of getting more than just a trim, but Rei knew he'd never really cut it short.

The wind had blown it out of its tie while Rei was walking back from the bus stop near his apartment, and now he was getting it caught in his bag's zip as he tried to search for his keys.

Rei swore as he came up the stairs to the fourth floor. He couldn't find them. He rounded the corner to find, however, a young man with strange blue hair fumbling with the door lock of room 243.

Despite deep tiredness, something akin to shock still jolted Rei's system.

Number 243 was HIS room.

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A/N: Want to help the story get better? REVIEW!


	2. Mirrors My Soul

**The Rain Outside**

A/N: Thanks to reviewers: **Kiko cat, Iwonn, Platinum Rei, darksaphire** and **Judgement of Tears**.

Oh yes, this story is original. The whole idea has the originality of hell. XD

The quality of the writing isn't my usual standard – but I feel like posting something fun and fast rather than making it work for myself. Please enjoy.

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Mirrors My Soul

It wasn't something one did for a hobby – trying to break into other people's rooms. And it wasn't something Kai Hiwatari did on any regular occasion.

In fact, he wouldn't have been doing it at all, except for the reason that he needed somewhere to stay and he thought he had the right key for this room.

One thing Kai did not expect was to find that the key currently in his possession and hand, which he was furiously trying to fit into the door lock, was indeed not the one he needed. Also, Kai was not expecting (or particularly wanting) the owner of said needed correct key to come along at that particular moment.

Or that such person would yank him by the shoulder and slam him to the ground.

Or that such person, as Kai looked up into the person's face, would be extremely male and extremely hot.

That last thought, Kai tried to squash right down to the back of his mind as he was being attacked by obviously the real owner of the apartment.

"Who the hell are you!" Rei shoved the stranger away from his door and to the hard ground. The worn out carpet was something the building owners had never bothered to fix.

The stranger didn't reply.

He clearly thought it wouldn't be wise to shout back at an already raving lunatic.

Rei sighed inwardly. He really didn't need this. All he wanted was to get inside his apartment, soak in his bath, have a microwave dinner and sleep until next week.

"Who are you and what were you doing trying to get into my apartment?"

The guy on the ground was half shielding his body with his arms and clenched fists, half checking that his shoulder wasn't too badly bruised.

He didn't reply.

"Huh! Well?" Rei let out a jet of steam, breathing through his nostrils. He wished he had the energy to properly pummel this guy into the ground. Actually, no he didn't. He'd probably be beaten in any fight, especially as this guy was taller, larger, and most likely stronger than him.

Rei stamped his foot next to the man on the ground and his waiting demanded an answer.

The stranger rolled onto his back and stared right into Rei's eyes, odd yet horrid pools of crimson burning into his very skin.

He held his wrist close to his chest with one hand, as though he had fallen on it badly.

But Rei could not pay the man's injuries much attention. He couldn't break the gaze.

It was only when the stranger coughed slightly and half-sat up in one fluid motion, looking straight ahead at not at Rei, that he felt he had been released from some form of capture.

Rei took a moment to breathe, surveying his still-opponent, and then realised that his enemy's focus was back, directly on his room door.

"Hey, I don't know who you are, but you'd better give back that key you stole and get out of here!"

The blue-haired guy didn't move.

Rei was starting to wonder if he hadn't imagined this whole scenario and the seemingly inhuman entity in front of him. 'Gone schizo after another long day's work', was all Rei thought as he tried to ignore the guy, deciding that staring him into leaving was not going to work with that blood-gaze. No – he'd just wish for it to happen and eventually it would.

"What are you going to do about it?"

Rei jolted and then whipped his head around.

He didn't know exactly what the stranger was referring to, but it was unnerving having him sitting on the floor in front of his door. Also, that voice was almost as captivating as the young man's torn red eyes – enough for Rei to confuse himself entirely. He shook his head as he tried to erase the sound of the stranger's lulling, yet deceptive voice of stone.

Where was he again?

The stranger was looking away.

"It's not the right key, anyway."

Rei blinked. Was this guy crazy? Was he going to try and rob his apartment as soon as he let himself inside? No doubt, along with all his meagre life savings being stolen, he would be duly beaten to a pulp for revenge.

"Err… I'm going to go into my apartment now, and you're going to be gone as soon as I've opened the door."

"Right."

That was the only noise the stranger made as Rei turned around again to keep hunting for his keys. Searching every pocket, double-checking the extra zips inside the bag and the pockets in his pants and shirt, he had nearly forgotten the man. The stress of having possibly lost his keys moved him into what Emily called 'Frantic Rei' mode.

It was no help that when he turned to walk to the pay phone at the bottom of the apartment building, the blue-haired, crimson-eyed stranger was still there, sitting at his feet.

Rei would have jumped back ten feet if not for the walls.

"You haven't opened the door yet."

Rei tried to wish the stranger away.

"You think I don't know that?"

Silence was Rei's only answer. This guy was obviously not fond of communication.

"I've lost my key. I thought you might have stolen it, but if that's not the right one…"

The stranger raised an eyebrow as if to say 'are you so sure you can just believe me?'

Rei sighed.

"I'm sure if you could have gotten inside, you would have, instead of nearly breaking my door down." The stranger shrugged.

"Will you please just leave? It's unnerving to have someone just watching and you're not helping."

The other young man finally stood, dusting off his hands and sliding them into the pockets of his dark cargo pants.

"So what are you going to do?"

Rei was still waiting for him to leave. Clearly, this was not going to happen.

"I'm leaving as soon as you've opened the door."

He smirked, and Rei thought it was the epitome of evil little self-satisfied smiles.

"Fine. Just don't…"

"What?"

Rei shook his head.

"I'm going downstairs to the pay phone. You can follow me then, do whatever you like." He quickly trotted away down the stairs.

"It's not like I have anywhere better to go…" Kai responded quietly to himself.

-

"You wouldn't happen to have forty cents, would you?" Rei asked in the most polite tone he could muster.

"You dragged me down four floors and you don't even have enough money for a phone call?"

On top of all his tiredness and frustration at not being able to keep track of his keys, this guy was really starting to infuriate him. He gritted his teeth and replied.

"Look, I did not _drag_ you down here – you came by your own free will! Secondly, I'm not living in complete poverty, I just don't have any small coins on me. Only twenty dollar notes. If I manage to call the 'landlord' of my floor, I might be able to get a replacement key." Rei covered his face with his hands and groaned.

Just about ready to give up for good and move in with Lee, something silver and shiny sparkled in the corner of his vision.

From one of his pockets, the stranger produced what looked to be a mobile phone.

"Just make it quick. I hope you know their number."

Rei gaped as the guy placed the phone in his hand.

"It had better still work. You could have smashed it when you kicked me into the ground."

Rei flushed.

"Sorry – it's just that this isn't exactly the nicest neighbourhood."

"Oh, I'm sure."

The stranger crossed his arms and turned to the side, waiting for Rei to make his phone call.

Rei flipped to cover of the phone up, seeing the high quality of the phone. It obviously had an inbuilt video camera, and there was an option on the menu for music storage. He wasn't even sure you could buy something this high-tech yet.

"Where did you get this?' He asked, half in wonder, half-surprise that someone like … _him_ would possibly have in their possession something so obviously expensive.

He shrugged.

"It was a gift."

The flat tone in his voice left no doubt that the topic of conversation was over.

Rei's eyes were still wide as he scrolled through the menu. He'd never even _owned_ a mobile phone, much less touched one like this.

The guy was starting to look irritated, so Rei stopped checking it out and entered in the number to call. The 'owner' of his - the fourth – level of the apartment building, was usually available 24/7, as it was the man's only job to collect rent and clean up after leaving residents.

Except – the phone just rang and rang. There wasn't even an answering machine. Rei was sure he had the correct number – but no one was picking up.

Not wanting to face the stranger with another dead-end solution, he opted for his last resort.

He dialled another number.

"Hello?"

"Rei, is that your voice?"

"U-huh. I'm borrowing someone else's phone. D'you reckon I'd be able to crash at your place, just for the night?"

"Oh – what's wrong? Are you ok?"

"Yeah. I just… Only for the one night, if that's alright with you."

"Mm – sure! It's fine, Rei. Are you coming right now?"

"Yes, I think I'll be heading over there as soon as one of us hangs up."

The person on the other end of the line laughed.

"Ok. I'll see you in a bit? Are you sure you're alright? Anyway – we can talk when you get here."

"K – will do. And don't worry about me. See you."

"Bye, Rei!"

Rei ended the call.

The stranger that stood within two metres had turned around to listen to Rei's half of the conversation.

"What's going on now?"

"I'm going to stay at a friend's place." The phone, still in Rei's hand, vibrated silently. "So, I guess I might see you around…" He glanced down at the phone. "… Kai."

He passed the phone back, hoisted his bag higher on his shoulder, retied his hair and headed to the front double doors of the apartment block.

Kai's eyes were wide. Shining, and as red as if the moon had been painted with blood.

"How do you know my name?" His voice sounded harsh, yet defensive.

"Hey, calm down. You just got a message on your phone. You know – it's so high-tech and all, it has a greeting saying 'Kai has received 1 new message'." Rei shrugged. "Is that such a big deal, that I know your name now?"

Kai clenched his jaw and looked away.

Rei stood still for a moment, watching his sort-of companion.

"Well, bye for now."

Rei left, his long black hair coming loose again and getting trapped in his bag.

Kai looked down at his phone and saw who had sent the message. He deleted it immediately.

He straightened and faced the direction Rei had gone in.

"I wonder what his name is…"

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A/N: Reviews are loved nearly as much as the love of my life, the drink Sarsparilla. In other words anything you write will be greatly appreciated. 


	3. Crowds

**The Rain Outside**

A/N: Thanks to reviewers: **Iwonn, Vampyre Neko, Irime, Ice Dragon 638, falconwingdiving, coda, Kiko cat, lazyfifilazy, darksaphire, Platinum Rei, Elithil** and **Reis#1gurl**.

I really appreciate it. You guys are probably what made me get this next chapter out so quick. You'll get another one within a week – I have school for the next 5 days so I don't know when I'll be able to write.

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Crowds

"Hi Rei!" She jumped on her friend and gave him a big hug.

"Are you ok? You look really tired! Are you feeling sick as well?"

Rei waved her off.

"I'm ok, Mariah, really. I just need to get some sleep. Is it ok if I get the couch?"

"The couch! Rei – I can't let you sleep on the couch," the pink-haired girl shook her head. "I'll set up the bed in the spare room. Really, I don't know why you don't stay with me more often."

Rei mutely followed her into the house.

He just wished he could sleep.

"Oh, you can put your bag down. And help yourself to anything from the kitchen while I set up the spare bed. Then we can have a nice long chat."

Rei let out a deep sigh as soon as she left the room.

Despite its attraction, Rei stayed well clear of the coffee, instead looking inside the fridge for a light snack.

It was now nearing 11 o'clock. He was rostered on for work tomorrow, but as soon as he walked in to the restaurant, his boss would probably tell him to go home and get some proper rest. And he wouldn't mind that, actually. It had been a full week, and Rei acknowledged that he probably needed to take a break.

He could deal with not earning any money for the next few days; Mariah would most likely be glad to keep him under her roof, if only he could stand her constant company.

"Well, that's all done then."

Rei pulled his head out of the fridge.

"You didn't want anything to drink? Tea, maybe?"

Rei shook his head and closed the fridge door.

"Sorry, I'm just feeling really tired. Can we talk in the morning?"

Rei started to head towards the spare room.

"Oh." Mariah appeared crestfallen. "Good night then."

Rei walked up to her and kissed her on the cheek.

"'Night. Thanks, again."

Later that evening, as Rei was finally clutched by the tendrils of long-needed sleep, Mariah was giggling to herself in her room.

"Oh, but I can't make anything of it…" She said to herself and sighed. "He's so obviously... Oh well. I can hope that when he wakes up in the morning he's suddenly straight. Hee hee!"

She shook her head at herself, knowing that she was acting stupid, but there was no hope for one such as she, in love, so she curled up in her pale cerise sheets and tried to dream of Rei.

-

When Rei awoke in the morning, Mariah was not up.

Odd, Rei thought. Usually she was such an early bird. Though, maybe things had changed.

And his body was still on got-to-get-up-for-work time.

He rooted through a kitchen cupboard, knowing Mariah wouldn't mind if he pinched some cereal. No doubt she would have wasted an entire hot cooked meal on him. Rei couldn't handle a cooked breakfast anymore. All the egg, baked beans, toast and sauce just made him feel sick.

After a bowl of rice bubbles and a quick scull of orange juice, Rei retrieved his bag from his room before Mariah could wake up.

He wrote a small note:

_Mariah –_

_I'll be back by the afternoon._

_I've just got some errands,_

_Rei._

Obviously, although these errands meant Rei was going to be away from Mariah's presence, he also had to see if he could get back into his own apartment.

The first thing he did was walk back to his block and see if he could contact his level landlord.

There was a note posted on the door – 'on holidays, ask Brent if you need anything'.

Brent was in charge of making sure people paid their rent on time. And he had methods. And these methods worked.

Either you paid your rent on time or got blackmailed and bashed. Rei had known quite a few residents who just ran away when they couldn't afford the month's pay. On his own records, Rei had never missed one date in 3 and a half months.

He tentatively knocked on Brent's door.

The person who opened the door looked like a real brute.

Small, dull eyes and thick, matted black hair with a body twice the size of Rei's, Brent was certainly someone to be avoided.

"Yeah?" he grunted.

"Uh… I just wanted to know when Andrew's coming back." Rei tried to avoid the huge man's nasty breath when he spoke.

"Dunno. He's on holidays. He just told me that everything's now under my control."

"Right. Um, do you have a phone number for where he's staying then? Because he always takes the spare apartment keys with him, doesn't he?"

"Yeah, too right he's got them keys. Would save me a lot of trouble if he gave them to me." Brent's shoulders shook with a hacking cough. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"I don't have a number but I have the address of where he's staying. You want that?"

"Yes please," Rei replied, trying to keep as far away from the other man as was politely possible.

It was with a small piece of paper covered in Brent's huge scrawl that Rei went to the train station.

The place his landlord was staying at was some suburbs away and there wasn't a bus directly there. Besides, it was relatively close to the station, and Rei could walk from there.

He purchased a ticket and headed through the barriers to a fairly empty platform. He was about to take a seat on one of the station benches when a flash of blue caught his eye.

Rei warily approached. A day ago, this guy might have been a stranger, and they certainly didn't know each other now, but he had a feeling jumping around excitedly and waving wasn't going to get the other young man to talk to him.

He walked up slowly to say hi.

"Hey, Kai."

He turned around, and Rei could see that they shared some kind of fashion sense – wearing the same clothes for two days in a row.

"Hey."

Kai was barely looking at him. Rei put his backpack down on the ground, seeing as the train was due in 9 minutes. He had time to give his shoulders a rest.

"So where are you going?"

Kai's crimson eyes narrowed.

"You don't need to know."

Rei raised his eyebrows. He probably could have taken that for a hint to leave Kai alone, but he wasn't about to let someone so… intriguing just walk away from him.

"Where did you end up staying last night? I thought you were breaking into my room to sleep there."

Kai looked just a tiny bit awkward.

"I went to a hotel."

Rei wondered where Kai had gotten the money to stay in a hotel, but it must have been a pretty dodgy hotel.

"I take it you weren't that desperate to get into my… apartment then." Rei tried to pretend, particularly to himself, that the word 'bed' had not crossed his mind at all. And that Kai was not now giving him an appraising look.

"No. I guess I wasn't."

They were silent for some time.

With any other person, Rei might have felt that the conversation needed to be continued, but Kai seemed to accept, or even really appreciate the silence more than the talking.

'Ah well,' Rei thought, 'I've been put off small talk ever since meeting Mariah'.

The train was running a couple of minutes late.

However, just when Rei was beginning to think it was going to be cancelled, the train belatedly rolled into the station.

Having already picked up his bag, Rei followed the strange stoic blue-haired man in front of him to some seats near the door of the closest train carriage.

He found himself sitting beside Kai, unable to view him face on, but he supposed that would relieve his soul from the intensity of those red eyes.

He began to wonder about Kai's strange appearance. Hair that seemed to have two shades of blue, startling gash-red orbs of fire and fury… Well, Rei had not seen Kai actually angry yet, but he was sure he wouldn't like to be under a gaze of Kai's wrath.

Still, after Mariah, who was constantly convincing strangers her hair was _naturally_ its lurid pink, Kai didn't look that odd.

The thoughts ran through Rei's mind of what he _would_ describe Kai's appearance with, but abruptly stopped when said Kai spoke to him.

"Weren't you getting off at the next stop?"

"Where are we?" Rei looked out the window, leaning across Kai's body to see out of the dirt-covered glass. "Yeah. Next stop."

He sat back up and gave Kai a querying glance.

Kai let out a short breath. This constant presence of another person was… different to what he was used to.

"What?" The black-haired young man next to him had asked him a question, and Kai hadn't heard.

"Where are you getting out?"

Kai shrugged in response.

Rei waited for a more definite answer. Clearly, he wasn't going to get one.

"You mean you don't know or you don't want to tell me?"

Kai again avoided the question, saying "I just needed to get out of town".

Rei took it to mean that Kai didn't really know where he was going as well as not wanting anyone else to know.

"Getting out of town. Right… How long had you even been 'in town'? I'd never seen you before."

Kai looked out of the window and the carriage doors opened.

"Your stop."

Rei frowned but stood.

"Well if you don't know where you're going, why don't you come with me?

Kai looked at him strangely and he seemed to be thinking.

He stood quickly and shook his head at himself.

"Hurry up. The doors are closing."

Rei smiled as he stepped onto the station platform.

Kai was right behind him.

-

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A/N: Reviews are like chocolate for me. And what goes around, comes around. You read mine and I'll read yours – all you have to do is leave your ID.

Also - cheers to Euryale for Mariah's hair. (Hands Euryale Gift of Thanks and pleads for her to update.)


	4. Not From Me

**The Rain Outside**

A/N: Thanks to reviewers: **reilover, personne du monde, Ice Dragon368, Platinum Rei, Kiko cat, lazyfifilazy, Lil fighter for good, Aggs, Reis#1gurl** and **darksaphire.**

And special thanks to **Obsidian Obscurity**. I think you kicked me into inspiration (through your fic, somehow), and into writing this chapter.

* * *

Not From Me

As they exited the station, Rei turned to talk to Kai.

"I'm surprised that you did come, actually. You mustn't have anything better to do. You have no idea where we're going."

Kai simply nodded.

"Though you did break your word. You said you'd stop following me as soon as I got to open my apartment door. But you left last night." Rei looked more closely at Kai's face. He was beginning to learn how to read him.

Kai simply raised an eyebrow and kept walking. Rei laughed.

"Anyway, we're going to this holiday motel where my apartment owner is staying. He's the only one with another copy of the keys."

Rei vaguely knew the area, and as he doubled-checked the address of the motel, he tried to remember which direction to head in at the next pedestrian crossing.

"It should be a right up ahead."

Kai nodded again, as if to say 'you lead'. Rei thought that it was not something the blue-haired man was accustomed to doing – following someone. Yet although he had begun to understand some of Kai's mannerisms, he essentially didn't understand _Kai_.

He had tried to break into his apartment, had trailed behind him until Rei had left for Mariah's house, had allowed Rei to sit next to him and even talk to him on the train, and now he was following Rei to some unknown location to find an unknown person.

Rei didn't try to strike any conversation after that, he felt as if speaking was some crime that had a heavy penalty when in Kai's presence.

They turned a corner and headed down the footpath of a narrow one-way street that had high wooden fences of homes on either side. There was graffiti all over the place.

Rei knew that Andrew wasn't all that rich, but he hadn't expected his apartment owner to be holidaying in the cheapest and dodgiest part of town.

When they had reached the end of the road and there was no street name of 'Kensington way' in sight, Rei wondered if the address Brent had given him was correct, or whether he'd just taken a wrong turn.

"You're lost." Kai's voice seemed to be constantly stating Rei's inherent stupidity.

"No! Well… yes." He ran a hand through his hair, feeling stressed.

He turned to find Kai looking at him oddly.

"Err…" he shoved the piece of paper with the address on it in his bag.

"It's getting near lunch time," Rei observed with a glance at his silver watch. "Want to find a place to eat?"

Kai gave a single nod. "I saw a café on the way here."

Rei waited for him to lead the way back.

* * *

As they stepped inside and a small bell tinkled at their arrival, Rei could tell his companion did not approve.

The blue-haired man wrinkled his nose in high disdain at the used-looking booths and the state of the tiled floor. Rei surmised that Kai wouldn't like the Thai restaurant, then.

There was a chalkboard menu above the counter, and Rei saw a cheap fish and chip meal deal.

"See anything you like?" he asked Kai.

Kai snorted, seemingly in disbelief. However, his verbal reply was much more collected.

"Not really."

But he seemed to have decided on something, as he gestured for them to take a seat at one of the cleaner looking tables while a waiter took down their orders.

Kai was still a vast mystery, Rei decided as they waited for a grungy-looking server to return with their meals. He caught a bit of the news on a tiny television near the door, a segment about missing persons. Kai seemed to be living off the bare minimum, yet he possessed an expensive phone (which Rei wasn't entirely convinced was a 'gift') and he scoffed at the state of a normal café.

The waiter came back with Rei's fish and chips, and a small plate of questionable-looking quiche for Kai.

He prodded it with his fork warily.

"Do you think they actually cook it?"

Rei laughed and Kai glared in return.

Nevertheless, he took small bites and obviously did not find his food completely unsatisfactory.

Again Rei felt that if he was with any other person (ie. Mariah), he would have to be chatting away madly, but Kai seemed to have dictated that eating a meal required absolute silence also. Rei had eaten quickly, and his eyes distractedly found their way back to the small tv, which was now showing that tomorrow's weather forecast was rain.

Well, he didn't want to still be staying at Mariah's if it was raining. The window in the spare room leaked considerably when shut, Rei knew from experience. At least he still had a chance of finding a map at the local Information Centre for tourists and locating the holiday motel.

The waiter came back, and after Kai said that they were indeed _finished_ eating, said he would get them their bill.

Kai had eaten even the crumbs off his plate, and Rei wondered whether it was because he had been starving or he had been brought up to finish a meal entirely.

Kai, astonishing Rei, said he would cover the expenses of the meal and went to the counter and Rei put his backpack on his shoulders again. The Information place was near the train station – that at least, he knew.

Kai came back to the table, unsettled bill still in his hands.

"They say they can't take cards at the moment – their machine is broken."

Rei rolled his eyes but knew it typical of an eatery to have such problems and not have a sign telling its customers so.

"Well, if you don't have any cash on you, I'll pay."

And Kai stepped aside to let Rei go to the counter. The grungy waiter was standing at the register, remaining there until one of them paid.

Rei handed over two twenties and waited for the change.

Kai glanced around, as though putting the café into his memory so he would know never to come back.

Rei smiled and thanked the waiter for the changed and headed to the door. Kai hadn't followed.

"When in doubt, ask a local," he muttered to Rei.

"Do you know where Kensington Way is, by any chance?"

The waiter look surprised and squinted at Kai, but nodded and gave directions.

* * *

Kai, now adjusted to being constantly within 10 metres of another person, took every opportunity to grumble his complaints.

"I don't know _why _you thought this motel was on the other side of the station."

The dark-haired man beside him seemed to be trying to keep his flustered dignity in tact.

"Well, it's just now how I remember it. The train station's been all renovated, it confused me." And he edged in front, turning the corner first so that for a moment he was out of Kai's sight.

Kai caught up to the other man quickly when his phone rang in his pocket. And rang.

Rei stopped.

"Aren't you going to answer that?"

Kai had barely stopped.

"What?" he asked absently. "Oh."

He paused briefly as if willing his phone to stop ringing.

At Rei's gaze upon him, however, he pulled his mobile out of his pocket and saw who was calling. He did not want to take this call. His options were to pretend he was answering but hand up straight away, or actually talk to the person on the other end. He knew that the other young man would know if he faked a call, and he couldn't just be rude by continuing to ignore his phone.

Thankfully, as though his wishing it to happen had worked, the phone stopped ringing.

Kai let out a breath of relief.

Rei tilted his head with a query.

Kai shrugged and kept walking.

"I don't know who it was."

Rei frowned and tried to see into Kai's eyes. Something was stopping them from being readable like anyone else's.

Kai shuffled his feet, avoided Rei's probing glance.

"Looks like you managed to find the motel, anyway."

Rei looked around, away from the addictive form of Kai.

He was right.

Rei just hoped Andrew was there, and that he had the spare copies of the keys.

* * *

A/N: Don't hesitate in reviewment! 


	5. Inside

**The Rain Outside**

AN: Thanks to the following, who reviewed –

**Darksaphire, MafiaNerd, MikeyWaysgirl, Echo in the Dark, personne du monde, Lil fighter for good, Aseptic, grEMlin eVil** and **Raven Deathstar**.

And, because I can, I am shameless plugging my story Evolving Shadow – it's just two clicks away!

* * *

Inside

The door of the motel office seemed to swing open of its own accord. It overall seemed rather nice; the entire atmosphere of 'The Sunset Cove' was one of warm welcome.

There was no one behind the office counter and Rei waited for Kai to edge into the room before he pressed the small bell that send 'Ring me if desk is unattended'.

Kai seemed to hold a grudging approval for the place. It wasn't first class, but its resort style had a homely quality to it. There were several stands of holiday brochures beside two leather chairs and a small wooden table which Kai proceeded to amuse himself with.

Rei rang the small bell a second time, wondering if the motel owners would even be able to hear it if they were outside the room.

A plump middle-aged woman came into the small room from a door behind the desk. She was wearing a low-cut, lacy top which Rei cringed at, and her thick, ringed hair was a sun-bleached brown.

"Yes, can I help you?" she asked as she chewed some gum, revealing itself to be the colour blue as it twisted around her teeth.

Rei stepped forward and closer to the desk.

"Yeah. I wanted to visit someone staying here."

"Friend or relative? What's the name?" the lady chewed.

"Er, friend. And his surname is 'Dickinson'... I think he's been here for a few days."

The woman raised a thinly plucked eyebrow and continued chewing, checking a book of guests while Kai pluttered his fingers lightly on top of the desk, having found nothing of interest in the brochures.

The lady quickly found what she was looking for after scanning her list and picked up a phone receiver on her side of the desk.

"I'll just check he's in. I think I saw him go out this morning."

Rei nodded and stepped back. He was rustling in his bag, Kai was wondering what for, while the lady was waiting for 'Dickinson' to pick up.

"Oh," she said, pulling the phone away from her mouth. "Who should I tell him you are?"

"Ah…" Rei shifted a glance at Kai, who stared blankly right back.

"An old flat mate," he smiled forcibly. He didn't want to embarrass himself by telling the truth. He could see Kai snort from the corner of his vision.

The lady raised her eyebrow again, slightly suspicious but also curious.

Just as Rei was suspecting Dickinson would never answer, the lady began talking on the phone, with her back to Rei and Kai.

Rei zipped his bag back up as the lady announced that the man was staying in 'Room Four' and that he had apologised for being so slow to answer the phone; he had been in the shower.

Rei thanked the woman and the pair shuffled out of the office and past a laundry, along a concrete path to a room with a rusting plate '4' on a flimsy-looking door ahead of them.

Kai stood back again, as Rei knocked on the door.

A balding head appeared in the small window beside the door, fingering apart some moth-eaten curtains to see who was outside. A grin appeared and soon the door was opened to them.

"Young Mr. Kon!" The jovial man named Dickinson ushered Rei inside and then, seeing Kai, who looked as though he'd rather not be involved, showed him into the dim motel room as well.

"What brings you to visit me while I'm holidaying on my wedding anniversary, Mr. Kon?"

Rei's eyes widened.

"Your wedding anniversary? Oh – congratulations!" He hadn't even known the man was married. Kai was smirking in the shadows, Rei knew it.

"Bet you want to meet her now, don't you?"

Rei nodded dumbly, not able to correct the man who seemed so enthused, thinking that he had never seen Dickinson's wife in the apartment building once.

Dickinson glanced over his shoulder.

"Ah well, she must still be in the bathroom. Meryl!"

It was at this point that Rei remembered that Dickinson had been in the shower… and now noticed the man's state of dress – creased tan pants that looked as though they had been shoved on hurriedly, and a towel around his bare shoulders over a white singlet and Rei noted that the man's wife was still in the bathroom. There were some other items of clothing thrown unceremoniously on the bed and floor.

"Er – it doesn't matter. Just a quick question."

Dickinson looked slightly put out at not being able to show off his wife, and he rubbed that back of his smooth round head.

"What can I do for you?"

"Well," Rei rushed ahead, deciding that saying it all quickly didn't make him seem so stupid, "I've lost my apartment keys and my spare set are locked in my apartment, and I'm sorry to bother you while you're holidaying, but I wondered if you had your set…"

Dickinson gave him a wide, friendly smile.

"Oh – it's no problem, Mr. Kon. Just one moment – I've put my things in the cupboard behind the kitchenette." The main shuffled away on his short thick legs to get the keys.

Rei sent Kai a weak but grateful smile as a woman, with a (thankfully long) towel wrapped around her body and a second being rubbed into her hair came into the main room, with a strangely sated grin glowing from her eyes. She looked a little younger than her husband, but with dark grey streaks all through her hair and lines around her chin and mouth.

"Oh – hello!" she said in slight shock of seeing Rei and Kai. She quickly picked a large plaid (probably her husband's) shirt from the floor next to the double bed that took up half of the room. Rei did not want to think about how it might have gotten there. She modestly held it tight against her slightly pudgy front and did up the buttons.

"Are you friends of Andrew?" She had a friendly air about her, which Rei found relaxing in a mothering sort of way.

"Yes, well, I'm a resident on his apartment floor." Meryl nodded and then looked to Kai, who had shrunk even further to a dark corner by the door. He seemed _wary_ of the cheery woman.

"This is Kai, just a friend who wanted to help me out."

Kai stepped forward slightly and gave a small, curt nod.

"How kind," she continued smiling at both of them. Kai was beginning to show a little agitation in the clench of his jaw.

"Yeah, ever since I haven't been able to find my keys he's been at my side more than ever." Rei grinned, knowing that he was making Kai sound like a lifelong faithful dog.

"Kon…" he said warningly.

Rei felt a small thud somewhere at the bottom of his ribcage. It was rare that Kai spoke, and when he did, his voice always made Rei feel like doing something… well something that wasn't evident in his character when Mariah ever said anything. It was especially strange to hear Kai refer to him by name, and then Rei realised it was the first time the other young man ever had. In fact, it came upon him, Kai hadn't even known his name until today. It made Rei feel odd about this 'friendship' he had announced to Mrs Dickinson.

Meryl noticed Rei's absent mind and smiled knowingly at his flushed face.

Dickinson had come bustling back into the main room, pulling one key off a long chain with many, chinking metal against metal.

"Now I'm trusting you to get this key copied and return it to me, so I know you won't lose it," Dickison said in a joking manner to Rei, passing the key over.

"Well I only need to get into my apartment to get my spare key."

"Hmm, I think it's better to get a copy this afternoon so you can return it straight away. Just makes things easier for everyone, doesn't it? You'd be getting a duplicate anyway…"

Rei nodded and smiled.

"Thanks Mr. Dickinson."

The older man gave a friendly grin back, then winked in the direction of his wife as she said goodbye.

Rei wanted to escape as soon as possible. And no doubt Kai was very ready to leave as well.

Thanking them both again, and politely refusing an offer of tea from Meryl, Rei quickly grabbed Kai's arm and dragged them both out.

"Sorry about that," Rei said as soon as the door was shut. "I had been hoping to just get straight in and out."

Kai, infuriatingly, was smirking, and Rei blushed. Looking down, he saw that he was still clinging to Kai's arm.

"Umm… Let's find a key-cutter, alright?"

Kai shoved his hands back into the pockets of his cargo pants and plodded smoothly behind Rei on the footpath leading out of the motel back to the train station and a street of shops.

"Do you actually know where you're going this time, Kon?"

Rei's face was still flushed as he whipped around. Kai found his smirk fading as he stared, while trying to look like he wasn't.

"I'm sure a little friendly help in directing us back to the direction of the station wouldn't go astray." Kai snorted, denying any form of friendly assistance, though it was clear he remembered exactly whereabouts the train station was.

"And it's Rei. That's my name – Rei."

He turned back and kept walking ahead. There was silence for some time until he heard the blue-haired young man behind him.

"Rei," he repeated quietly.

Rei let out a breath and his face was a mixture of a scowl and a grin.

"Yeah."

* * *

REVIEWMENT! Please?


	6. My World

**The Rain Outside**

A.N.: This is where the plot should start to appear. Prize of an air guitar if you guessed where this was going. This chapter became rather fun to write, even in spite or rather because of my hate for Mariah.

Thank you for reviewing: **Angel Spirit** (special thanks - your lovely reviews kicked me into writing**), no-name, argh swashswash bucklebuckle, black dragon fang, darksaphire, humanoid-kitten, Lil fighter for good, ketsueki no izou, grEMlin eVil, Mei Kimari, Cathy, animeobsession, neko yoka, Echo in the Dark, Kiko cat, Ashley, MafiaNerd** and **Aseptic**.

* * *

My World

By the time they had found a reliable-seeming key cutter, it was already late afternoon.

Rei wondered whether they should return the original to Dickinson that day, or tomorrow. He also wondered where he would be sleeping.

The most obvious place would be his own apartment – now he had a key again. But he had told Mariah he'd be back at her house…

Rei glanced up at Kai, who had his arms crossed with an inscrutable expression on his face.

"Are you bored or just tired?" Rei asked.

Kai turned quickly to face him, as though he had forgotten the other young man was there.

"Just thinking."

Rei nodded but kept an eye on him as he retrieved the keys – they were lucky that it didn't take more than a few minutes – it was nearly closing time and the key cutter refused the person after Rei.

Rei pocketed the keys, telling Kai that he'd be staying at his friend's place and he would come back tomorrow to give Dickinson the key.

Kai grunted an acknowledgement as they headed back towards the train station.

-

When it was nearly their stop, Rei suddenly realised he had no idea where Kai was going or why he was still with him.

"Have you got a place in town, or something?"

Kai shrugged.

"I was at a hotel last night."

Kai's phone rang quietly in his pocket. Once again, it remained ignored.

Rei wondered who it was that kept ringing Kai, and why the person was being avoided.

"Why don't you just turn it off, if you don't ever want to answer it?"

Kai looked at him and frowned, shoving his hand in his pocket.

There was a long silence as Rei looked out of the train window again, observing the shadowing blobs of trees that they streaked past.

Just as Rei was about to start another conversation, Kai replied:

"Because… I have to know that they're still calling."

Kai's frown deepened and he avoided Rei's gaze, continuing:

"Besides, someone might call who actually cares."

Rei opened his mouth to ask another question, but Kai stood just as the train halted at their stop.

"You the one who knows where to go," Kai said neutrally as he followed his black-haired companion out of the station.

-

They had been walking silently together for some time, and Kai was beginning to wonder if Rei had absolutely any sense of direction at all.

"You're lost again, aren't you?" He said with a partially pained tone, noting the look of confusion and introspection on Rei's face.

"What?" Rei whipped around. "Uh, actually, no… Just… Thinking."

Kai raised an eyebrow.

"Well, this friend of mine… Just – she can be a much, yeah? I mean… Don't feel pressured to like her. She can be a bit… intimidating, maybe."

Kai stood a little straighter, as if to signify that no one could ever intimidate him. Rei laughed in response.

"Come on, we're nearly there."

The pair rounded another corner before stopping at the front of a small home with a tangled weed garden. It was nearly dark, and Rei had some trouble navigating which part of the yard was the footpath that led to the front door.

He adjusted his bag on his shoulders, and Kai raised an eyebrow quizzically at the sight of Rei preparing himself. Kai wondered if he should be worried about what he would find inside the house.

Of course, he most certainly should.

Rei hadn't even pressed the doorbell when the front door flung open with a flashing whip of pink as he was suffocated by his old friend.

"I was so worried about you Rei!" Mariah half-screamed, burying her face in his neck and clinging to his shoulders.

"You just left that note and I thought… Well, you weren't home by the afternoon and, and…" She was practically sobbing as Rei patted her awkwardly on the back.

Kai had stepped back, shock apparent on his face.

Rei interpreted the strange, uninhibited expression on the normally masked young man as disgust, and he sent a pained face back, as though there was nothing he could do, but the crying mess attached to him was really 'alright'.

"Uh, Mariah?"

"Oh, right, sorry Rei." Mariah stepped back wiping her face with her hand and sleeve, assessing Rei and deciding he was starving and needed to eat her nourishing food right away, pulling him inside the house. When Rei refused to move at the tugging on his arm, she stopped and turned back around, noticing the blue-haired person for the first time.

Rei stepped in immediately, not liking the twisted look on her face.

"Mariah, this is Kai. Kai, Mariah." He gestured between them both. "Um, is it alright if we bunk here for a little while?"

Mariah studied Kai appraisingly, but noted Rei's hopeful face.

"Sure." She whipped back inside the house and headed towards the kitchen.

"Close the door behind you please, Kai", she added in clipped tones, as though he was an animal that had not yet been house-trained.

Rei frowned and gave the other boy apologising eyes, while Kai shrugged carelessly and did as the pink-haired girl had asked.

They stepped cautiously into the house as Mariah slammed some pans onto the stove, preparing dinner for them all.

She turned around and said "Rei why don't you sit down. I'm sure you've had a long day." Rei complied instantly, not wanting to further her obviously bad mood but Kai remained standing, very close to the front door, so he could make a quick escape if needed.

Mariah addressed him sweetly: "Oh, could you please set the table? The cutlery is in this drawer."

Kai strode forward, deciding that following the deranged pink-haired woman's orders was his safest option. When Rei stood and started shuffling over to help, Mariah shot him a glare that made him feel very small and he sat back down instantly.

Fifteen minutes later, the three of them were settled and seated at the dining table, each served a bowl of fried noodles by Mariah. She had made sure Kai received the smallest portion. He made no comment on the matter. He had decided that was exactly what she wanted.

They ate in silence for some time, Rei's eyes darting between his companions, taking in Kai's bored look and Mariah's menacing glare.

"Rei, you need to eat up, you've been sick. Is my cooking really that awful?" She put a hurt expression on her features.

"No! I was just… thinking." Rei hurriedly ate more; smiling at Mariah as he did so, conveying that he was thoroughly enjoying the meal.

Mariah finished first, placing her cutlery neatly on her empty bowl.

Kai had eaten slowly, despite having the least food, then followed her example and began staring at her with challenging red eyes.

She scoffed and glanced away, but shifting her gaze back to him every so often, appropriating him as a criminal in her mind.

As soon as Rei had finished and sat back in his chair, Mariah leapt up, piled the bowls and moved back into the kitchen. She served them a dessert of chocolate ice cream and jelly, again giving Kai such a miniscule amount she seemed to be wanting him to demand he should be treated differently.

But Kai made no comment and ate without even glancing in Mariah's direction. She fumed even more at this.

"Why don't you watch some TV while I clean this up?" She suggested to Rei and Kai, who moved into the living room. They feared asking to help.

Kai flicked through the channels uninterestedly, watching for Rei's reaction to see if he saw anything he wanted to watch. Rei shrugged and then stood after a few minutes.

"I'm going to the bathroom. We'll talk about sleeping arrangements when I get back, alright?"

Kai nodded and watched him go, then focussed on the screen, which was advertising some kind of shiny spinning top toy for children. But it was not absorbing enough to take his attention away from the entrance of Mariah.

She came in with a sickly smile pasted on her face and sat down on the couch opposite to Kai. She turned off the television when he placed the remote on the coffee table in front of them.

"So."

Kai refrained from looking at her.

She coughed and tried again.

"SO."

Kai purposely ignored her. Anyone else would take the hint that he wasn't much of a conversationalist.

"I don't know what's wrong with you! You are so rude to me and to Rei and you come into our home expected to be fed and housed and – if you weren't obviously such great friends, I would toss you out right now!"

Kai snorted. Did _this_ girl have the wrong impression.

"Look, it's not like that," he tried, leaning over to face her. He blinked. "Your home? As in… you and Rei share this house?"

Mariah could feel her face heating.

Kai tried to process the truth of what she was saying and what her statement implied.

"Oh, alright, Rei normally just lives in his apartment alone! But he comes here every so often, and I've been really worried about him lately – he always looks so exhausted after work and he's been so stressed and lonely and sick!"

Kai wondered if she ever experienced normal symptoms of hysteria.

"His boss told him to go home and get some rest, then there was a problem with his apartment, I don't know! I'm just trying to be a good … friend and care for him however I can! Obviously you're just giving him more reason to stress!"

Kai raised his eyebrows and settled back into the cushions.

"Yes, you! How long have you known each other for, anyway? Five years? I've known Rei since he was born! He clearly didn't want me to meet you because he thought I would see how worried you make him – and he was right!" Mariah looked close to tears as she covered her face with her hands.

Kai's eyes darted around rapidly, hoping Rei would appear.

"We haven't known each other for five years. Nowhere near that long."

Mariah looked at him suspiciously from between her fingers.

"Oh, really? I suppose he just picked you up off the street because you don't have a job and you have nowhere to stay, hm?"

Kai tried not to look away.

"So you're just friends, then?" She glanced at him with less venom than before.

Kai slowly nodded.

Mariah let out a long sigh.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I just worry, you know? …Just friends," she repeated, as though assuring herself. "Alright. I don't want him to get hurt, aga… Wait." Mariah looked him up and down, as though for the first time.

Her eyes widened miraculously.

"Oh my."

Kai attempted to back away. She was scaring him again.

Mariah stood and a hand flung to her mouth.

"You – you're not…"

Rei took that moment to walk in, looking quite absolutely tired and ready for bed.

"Is it okay for Kai to take the spare room, Mariah? And I pulled out some of my old clothes that you kept – hope you don't mind me using them again," he yawned with a smile.

"O-of course not, Rei. Listen, why don't you take the bedroom instead?" Mariah seemed to be still in shock-mode.

Kai nodded in agreement with her, feeling very odd as he did so.

"You need a good night's sleep," his voice came out gruffly and slightly grumpily. Rei was too tired to take in Kai's wary watching of Mariah.

"Oh, um, okay. I'll see you tomorrow morning, then? G'night," Rei yawned again as he headed back down the hallway.

Mariah shot Kai a sharp look before going in the same direction.

"Good night, Kai."

Kai decided that Mariah must have warmed slightly to him as she hadn't told him not to steal anything while they were sleeping.

He laid down on the couch, stretching out, and pulled off his shoes. He pulled his phone out of his pocket and turned it off before closing his eyes.

* * *

A.N. It made itself longer due to the many requests for longer chapters! So review – complain and I'll try to explain! Thanks - Munku-JGSPTV 


	7. Drive By

**The Rain Outside  
**.

Author's Notes: I usually am amazed at people who plead/complain of computer problems. But writing this chapter would have been so much easier and faster if my backspace key wasn't broken! I apologise for the lame excuse, but there you go. I've also finished my exams, so hopefully I'll use the time to write. Yay for pointless drabbling author's notes!

Thanks so much to everyone who has reviewed! hugs I think this is my most popular fic so far… With the posting of this chapter I'm breaking records in hits, reviews and adding some zeros to my total words on this site. And remember to be harsh in criticisms – nit-picking is welcomed! Although I'm not trying that hard to write too well for this story, any suggestions for how to improve it are greatly welcomed! So thanks to all reviewers:

**Hiei-Rose, Katsutoshi96, ray-is-sexy, Echo in the Dark, Beloved a.k.a the Fool, DemonicStormFox, Angel Spirit, EagleFox, MafiaNerd, Ashley, a-drop-of-rain, grEMlin eVil, KawaiiYoukai9517, neko yoka, Raven Deathstar, SilkYuzu, darkdranzer, akaiama** and **mystique blue dranzers2.

* * *

**

.  
Drive By  
.

When Rei awoke early in the morning he could not get back to sleep.

The sky was still the hazy blue-grey of pre-dawn. He attempted dozing off again, but he merely lay in his bed, thinking about the day ahead of him.

He would have to return Mr. Dickinson's key of course, now he had a copy, and then head back to his apartment. And do some shopping, as he was sure he didn't have any fresh food in his fridge. _And_ he'd probably have to call in at work to say he'd be returning tomorrow. Rei got out of bed to root his wallet out of his backpack, which he had placed on the floor the night before.

So much for going shopping, he thought. His wallet was practically empty.

He'd need to start doing extra shifts at work again. Currently, he didn't have to money to buy fresh food. And Rei doubted there was much money in his bank account, or in the tiger piggy bank in his apartment.

Rei sighed and returned the wallet to his backpack.

He laid back down on top of the sheets on his bed with his hands under his head. He stretched his legs and wiggled his toes. He still felt rather tired, even though he had gone straight off to sleep the previous night out of exhaustion. Mariah was so tiring and Kai - … Rei wasn't sure he wanted to think about Kai. He was beginning to discover he was thinking about Kai rather a lot, and that he felt…

Rei didn't know what he was feeling.

Trying to dismiss the blue-haired young man from his mind, Rei swung his legs onto the floor and stood up straight, yawning and stretching out his arms, feeling very feline as he managed to shut his jaw again.

Rei plodded out into the hallway, closing the door quietly behind him. He had been shocked, but now he supposed he really shouldn't have been, to find that Mariah had left all of his old possessions, including his clothes, exactly where he had left them before he had moved out. Finding his own place had been such a relief (Mariah could only be a fun housemate for less than a week), but having to pay for all of his own rent was difficult. Thinking about it, Rei realised he barely any time to himself, despite living alone now. Working long hours to pay for food, rent and bills, and then crashing out late at night to wake up the next morning for the next shift… Whenever he had been invited to a social outing by workmates, Rei had declined. Part of him was always just too tired, but another part of him… Sometimes he just didn't feel like being around other people at all.

And it took a person like Kai, who appeared to hate everyone else in the world, to understand that.

Rei smiled to himself as he entered the kitchen and did not know why. As he passed the living room, he saw Kai's body lying prone on the couch. He looked fast asleep. Rei tried to keep from simply standing there and observing the slow rise and fall of his chest, determined to distract himself with an early breakfast.

The numbers on the microwave displayed a distinct 4:30 am and Rei yawned again. He moved to one of the high kitchen cupboards to retrieve a bowl and cereal from another. He knew Mariah would impose a large cooked breakfast on him later, but he felt vaguely hungry now and didn't want to wake Kai by using the microwave or stove.

Rei poured a large quantity of milk over his bran flakes and then added extreme amounts of sugar, deciding that Mariah must be on some new kind of health diet. After returning the milk to the fridge, Rei hunted around for the cutlery. This, Mariah had changed around since he had last been in the house. Rei decided she must do this because she was lonely and needed a few changes in her life. He wondered if he should be a good friend and visit more often. Then he remembered he'd be working again a lot from a day's time and Mariah probably wouldn't disagree with the excuse.

Finally finding the cutlery in an obscure drawer next to the stove where the pans used to be, Rei grabbed a spoon and then winced at the sound of the drawer slamming shut. He breathed quietly for a moment, trying to tell if he had woken Kai up. There were no shuffling sounds of him getting up but there wasn't any snoring either. Actually, Rei decided, he couldn't picture Kai as much of a snorer.

He ate his breakfast in the kitchen, not wanting to make any loud noise carry to a sleeping Kai by moving to the dining table, and finished up slowly, drinking spoonfuls of the milk at the bottom of the bowl.

Rei placed the bowl and spoon carefully and quietly in the sink, deciding he'd have to remove the evidence of breakfast when Mariah got out of bed later on.

He picked up a ripe-looking green apple and headed into the hallway, intending to go back to his room and see what treasures he could remove to his apartment without Mariah noticing.

But then he saw that Kai was no longer on the couch.

Must have woken him up with slamming that drawer after all, Rei thought. Must have just gone to the bathroom. He sat down on another seat and waited for Kai to return, happy to talk to him without Mariah glaring in every direction. He didn't know what was up with Mariah lately.

Rei sat and ate his apple. He was halfway through eating it when he blandly thought that Kai was taking a rather long time. Maybe something was wrong? Was Kai sick?

He finished off his apple, threw the core in the bin and headed to the bathroom door. It was wide open and there was no Kai in sight.

Rei checked his room – no Kai. He double-checked every other room for the young man and couldn't find him anywhere. The only room left was where Mariah was presumably still sleeping, behind a thoroughly closed door. Rei grew nervous. Just sleeping, surely. And alone. There was certainly no way that Kai… Though Mariah sometimes did have twisted attractions to people. Glaring at Kai all the time though… She had a funny way of showing it. Then Rei decided that half of all those twisted attractions were false; it was just her way of trying to make him jealous and like her, which he had denied several enough times that he never would, for certain reasons which should be by now very clear to her. And Kai… Well Rei had never picked him as the romantic type, and he had a funny sort of niggling intuition that Kai wasn't exactly… well, not straight either. Rei flushed as he thought about it and determined that there was absolutely _no way_ Kai was doing… _unspeakable_ things with Mariah in her room at ten past 5 in the morning.

He walked quickly away from Mariah's bedroom door and back to the living room. Kai was probably being secretive and talking to someone on his phone for once, while no one else could see. Yes, that would be more like Kai, Rei shuddered, thinking about the very unlikely possibility of Mariah and Kai having a strange thing for each other.

But stepping outside into the mild air and then walking down Mariah's front lawn revealed no Kai.

Rei bit his lip and went back in the house.

Surely Kai hadn't _left_…? Would he? But Rei realised that was exactly the sort of thing Kai might do, without telling anybody. Rei's slightly panicked mind began concocting ideas of Kai being a suspicious stoic criminal, perhaps a drug dealer, wanting merely to steal Rei's money – that would be why he was breaking into an apartment – and just leaving to by some crazy addictive substance. Then Rei formulated the theory that Kai was really an undercover cop posing as a stoic drug dealer trying to gain information or be tipped off… But then that made no sense – why would he be hanging around Rei? Obviously he was a very shifty undercover cop that was playing the part well, or being a dodgy and unprincipled cop and ripping free meals and accommodation from them…

Or maybe, Rei wildly imagined, maybe Kai was actually running _from_ the undercover cops… He must have done something really bad… So he was a drug dealer!

By this point Rei was half-running up and down the hallway, about to knock on Mariah's door almost hoping to find Kai inside or ask her to help him find him… When he saw Kai's shiny silver phone on the floor under the couch.

Rei let out a huge breath, relief flooding him.

Kai would never just leave his phone behind, if he had been carefully planning criminal things or running away.

Rei picked it up, finding its cool smooth surface comforting. He was sure Kai would come back now, if only to retrieve this expensive possession. Rei breathed out slowly, waiting. A few minutes later, when Rei had calmed down, he flipped the phone over in his hands.

Why was Kai so mysterious about this thing? Curiosity made Rei consider turning it on and seeing any messages that might give him clues about Kai's reasons for being so secretive, or perhaps a phone number of one of his friends.

Rei found it odd to be considering who Kai's friends might be. He couldn't imagine him willingly spending time with Rei's own friends – like the people who worked at the restaurant.

Rei clutched it more tightly, vowing he'd never break Kai's privacy without explicit permission, when the owner of the phone stepped inside with the sound of the front door clicking shut behind him.

Kai seemed to locate Rei immediately, piercing red eyes staring first at Rei, and then the silver mobile in his hands. Rei noticed that Kai's cheeks appeared less colourless and pale than usual, and realised that they were flushed with a light tinge of pink.

Kai started striding forward, then stopped suddenly, staying some distance from Rei, and crossed his arms, still looking directly at what Rei held in his hands. He seemed to shift his weight slightly from foot to foot as though apprehensive.

"Did you… You didn't…"

Rei stood up immediately and offered the phone back to Kai.

"I'm sorry! I didn't mean -"

Kai stepped back, his eyes darkening.

"Why?" His voice was extremely cold.

"No – I didn't – I mean, I didn't do anything with your phone!"

"What do you mean?" Kai's expression was impassive, an edge of anger still carrying in his tone.

"I haven't turned it on or anything. Here." Rei placed the object carefully into Kai's hand. "I thought you might have… gone."

Kai looked at Rei, seeing straight into his eyes. Rei tried to hold the strong gaze, but had to glance away.

After a moment, he continued.

"But then I realised you wouldn't ever leave… your phone behind. So I figured you must be coming back. I was just sitting there waiting, wondering… Where were you, anyway?"

Kai seemed to accept the explanation and became more relaxed.

"I went for a walk."

Rei's eyes widened.

"At 5 in the morning?"

Kai shrugged.

"I was awake before you slammed the drawer in the kitchen."

Rei blinked.

"But didn't you…"

"I'm used to waking up early."

Kai walked into the kitchen, putting his phone in his pocket, as though by doing so quickly the entire matter would be forgotten.

Rei thought for a minute and then recognised that in Kai's language, going for a 'walk' probably meant doing some extreme physical exercise. Or close. Kai had most likely been running hard for the last hour. That explained the reddened cheeks and, now Rei thought about it, slightly windswept hair. And Kai's obviously fit body.

Rei coughed lightly to himself as he followed Kai into the kitchen.

.

Rei's plan to avoid Mariah's wrath was once again thwarted tremendously. Not only did the girl discover that he had already had some breakfast (he had talked to Kai instead of washing his bowl and spoon), refused to allow either of them to go free without having a large and fattening cooked breakfast, but also found out that Rei had slept very little the night before.

"Rei! I can't believe you! You should go right back to bed now!"

He tried to placate her nicely with even tones of "there are several things I need to do today, including going back to my apartment, where I actually live, and working out when I can start working again" but she wouldn't have it.

Deciding that angry older sister/mother mode wouldn't work, she reverted to hopeful prospective girlfriend and tried batting her eyelids at him.

"But, Rei-rei! How are you s'posed to do anything if you're so tired?" She even went so far as to stroke his hair.

Rei jerked away immediately, looking to Kai over his bacon to try and form a means of mutual escape.

Mariah, however, merely saw potential, seizing whatever opportunity she perceived.

"Kai thinks you're really exhausted too! Last night he was saying how sleepy you were and how he thought that you really shouldn't or, rather, couldn't -"

Kai, of course, wasn't going to be her ally.

He snorted in the middle of her speech and then responded smoothly.

"I never said anything like that at all." As Mariah fumed in obvious overreaction to his reply, he calmly sipped at his orange juice, looking out the window and barely touching the pile of sausages and eggs she had heaped onto his plate.

Rei grinned behind his hand. Clearly through this meal, Mariah was attempting to find a way to torture and actively discriminate against Kai by pretending she liked him a lot and that he needed to be overfed, rather than starving him. Rei had been served a nearly average breakfast, but Kai had been given so much food he doubted the three of them would have been able to finish three quarters of it.

Mariah huffed and tried to gain some dignity by holding her nose high in the air as she took her empty plate to wash in the kitchen. The intended effect was heartily removed by the sounds of her clanging the dishes around in the sink, muttering things like "that boy is never going to have any self-respect" and Kai's incredibly wide smirk, glancing at Rei and raising his eyebrows at particularly large banging noises.

"Ah, we only hope that one was her head."

Rei gave a short laugh, then covered his mouth so that Mariah wouldn't hear. His eyes still twinkled with mirth as he stood.

"First thing I should do is return Mr Dickinson's key."

Kai nodded and stood also, shoving his full plate aside.

"You want to come?"

Kai gave him a quizzical glance and responded, before heading to the bathroom.

"You think I'm staying in the presence of a jealous woman that wishes to kill me?"

Rei laughed again and decided not to brave helping Mariah clean up in the kitchen.

It was only some time later, getting ready in his bedroom, that Rei wondered why Kai would be terming Mariah as 'jealous'.

* * *

A.N. I do apologise for the lack of plot – nothing that I intended for this chapter has actually happened -.-''' But I was having too much fun :DPlease review! 


	8. Oblivious

A/N – Apologies for the lengthy gap between updates! Also, I've decided that this story won't end where you might suspect. Or expect. I'm warning you now, so I can protest against your complaints later.

Thank you, THANK YOU for your reviews. They're why the story lives.

-

**The Rain Outside by Munku-JGSPTV**

-

**Chapter 8 – Oblivious**

**-**

Rei and Kai found their way to the Sunset Cove Motel much more quickly than the previous day, and found that Meryl was the only one there.

"Andrew's gone out to get us some takeaway for lunch. Would you like to join us?" Rei found the woman's smile contagious, but politely refused, saying he had other things he needed to do, now that they had returned the key.

Kai appeared all too happy to leave.

It began to rain as they headed back to the train station, and Rei darted under the cover of various shops, trying to avoid the spattering wet, and stopped when he ran to the shelter of the café they had eaten at yesterday.

Kai was still several metres away, and Rei watched as he came closer, walking slowly as though his clothes were not becoming soaked in the manner they obviously were.

Rei shook his hair out and squeezed the tips before Kai came to stand next to him, blinking away the drops of water that trailed into his eyes and down his cheeks.

Rei saw a drop fall on the very end of Kai's nose, and he couldn't rest wiping it away with a gentle finger.

Kai looked at him suddenly, and Rei stopped breathing as he felt his cheeks warm. He pulled the offending hand away, and shoved it into his pocket, Kai merely frowning as he considered something.

"Er… It's pretty close to lunchtime. Do you want to eat here?"

Kai looked up, seeing that it was the same as the previous day. He shrugged, and Rei took it as a simple agreement.

They stepped inside and the small bell of the door tinkled, while Rei was avoiding looking at Kai, whose wet shirt stuck to him in ways that made his mind whirl.

They both sat down at the same table as yesterday, and Rei ordered a hamburger and chips, to which Kai stated "Oh, very healthy, Kon."

Rei grinned, and then felt cheated as Kai ordered a caesar salad with _lean_ chicken, and no dressing. The waitress blinked, as though not sure they stocked any such meat, and was about to move off, before asking,

"Do I know you?"

She blinked and looked at them oddly.

"Oh, we were here yesterday," Rei replied easily, and the woman nodded, shuffling away to sort out their food.

Rei didn't notice the way Kai's jaw unclenched and his eyes darted about warily.

"So… " Rei fingered the dessert menu on their table.

Kai stared back.

And Rei couldn't think of anything more to say.

-

Rei watched the small television with glazed eyes as Kai paid for their meal, being gentlemanly and stating that it was his turn.

"Anyone with information should contact local police or the hotline number immediately," the news reporter stated, standing somewhere outside in torrential rain, his small umbrella nearly blowing away.

Rei glanced at the door, seeing that the rain had died down a bit and there were patches of sunlight beginning to peek through the clouds again.

He fingered his shirt collar; their clothes were well and truly dry now.

"Come on," Kai said as he received a receipt and placed his card back in an expensive-looking leather wallet.

Rei eyed it with suspicion, wondering again why Kai had such possessions. They seemed to be his entire life – he carried nothing else with him.

Perhaps, if you had enough money, Rei mused, you didn't need anything but a few simple items. You could buy everything that you needed.

Rei glanced up at Kai, and a small smile came to his lips as Kai sensed someone was looking at him.

"What?" He muttered.

Rei shook his head, and his smile grew as he kept walking, thinking that money couldn't really buy everything.

They caught the train back to Rei's home town, this time he made sure he didn't nearly miss the stop.

They walked out of the small station together, clouds dissipating, and Rei fingered his apartment room key contemplatively.

"I still have to go to my work to fix up my shifts after taking time off… Do you want to come with me?"

Kai stared blankly, as though not expecting any alternative.

"Well, we could go to my apartment first."

Kai shrugged in that now-familiar way and was ready to start walking.

Rei put the key back in his pocket.

"The quickest way to get there is by bus from just around the corner."

Kai didn't nod, but waited for Rei to move and lead the way.

Rei had become used to Kai's minimal displays of expression, but it unnerved him currently, as he seemed quieter than usual. If that was possible.

Still, they hadn't known each other for very long; surely there were facets of Kai's personality he was yet to see.

Kai seemed nervous as they entered the half-filled bus, and Rei supposed it was due to the amount of people. Maybe Kai was claustrophobic. Or just afraid of strangers.

The ride was not long, and they soon stepped out across the road from the Thai restaurant Rei worked at.

Rei felt a strange sense of déjà vu, as the last time he had left here, it was to find Kai trying to break into his apartment. Now, the other young man was with him, beside him, as a friend.

However, 'friend' was not normally applied to a strange and reclusive person such as Kai. Rei liked that Kai was different. Kai didn't seem to expect anything of him.

"Does Mariah work here too?" Kai asked as they came to the front doors of Bow Thai, examining the cleanliness of the building. Rei winced, thinking he had assumed correctly that Kai wouldn't think much of it.

"Oh, no. She used to, that's how I got the job here. But now she…" Rei trailed off and blinked, suddenly realising something. "Actually, I have no idea what she does for a living."

Rei turned his neck and found Kai looking at him intently.

He found that small smile creeping over his face again, and he had to look away. Why was he so affected, just by a simple look?

Rei tried to filter down a blush as they walked past the main area of the restaurant and into the back office, where the owner spent many hours constructing rosters and managing deliveries.

"Hi Tyson," he greeted a young man who grinned exuberantly. "How are you?"

He bounded over to them, a bread roll in one hand and a stack of papers in the other.

"Great. Haven't seen you here for a few days. Ready to work again?"

Rei glanced at Kai, who was standing as close to the office wall as possible, as though trying to avoid Tyson, who suddenly noticed his sour face.

"Are you alright? You look like you just ate a lemon. Or maybe some of our Tom Yom Soup. Seriously, Max really loves stuffing that chicken with chilli. He doesn't realise that most people can't handle the strong flavour like he does. In fact, I'd better have a word with him now. We have a large party booked in for tonight and-"

He was already out of the room, but still talking loudly about arrangements all the way to the kitchens.

Rei laughed, and then moved across to a cork board that had work rosters pinned to it, trying to see when it would be opportune to return to work.

"_That_ was your boss?" asked Kai incredulously, recovering somewhat from the experience of being told confidently by a stranger that he had a miserable face.

Rei lifted up a sheet of paper attached to the board and flipped to one underneath.

"Hm?" he responded, not quite listening.

Kai smirked.

"No wonder this place is like it is, with management like that."

"What?" At first Rei was offended that Kai would so instantly come to the judgemental conclusion that his place of employment was a dump. He was beginning to think that Kai secretly came from a very rich background.

Then his brain clicked with what Kai had said.

"Wait. You think – Tyson – my boss!" Rei burst out laughing, bending over with one hand resting against the roster board, the other clutching his stomach.

"Tyson wouldn't have a clue how to manage a restaurant."

Kai frowned. That was exactly what he had been thinking.

Rei calmed down, realising that his companion was still confused, and looking at him strangely.

"Tyson's not my boss. He's – he just works here, like me. But Emily – she's the real owner of the place – tries to keep him out of the kitchen and away from customers as much as possible. She thinks that Tyson is a bit of a safety hazard, but he can work hard when he wants to."

The expression on Kai's face clearly agreed with the sentiments of Tyson as a 'safety hazard'.

"Emily runs the place pretty well, but she hasn't had the job for long. Max's mum officially owns the restaurant, but she's moved on to other work now."

Kai nodded, and Rei went back to looking at the rosters.

"I think I could come back some time next week… I'd better check with Emily first. The way she organises things… What?" He noticed Kai observing him closely.

"Nothing." Was his response, and he turned away, crossing his arms over his chest.

Rei sensed that this was not the time to pry, and a moment later Emily came into the office, clutching a mug of coffee. She was introduced to Kai and then sat at her desk, checking Rei's hours of availability on her computer.

Kai was distracted from their friendly chatter, and Emily's insistence that Rei take a few more days off to completely rest.

Kai was remembering the way Rei had laughed, without restraint, at a simple voicing of a thought. Kai tried to remember the last time he himself had laughed like that.

He couldn't think of a single instance.

Kai had always known, somewhere within him, that other children grew up differently. He didn't know if Rei even had any family, but whatever his experiences were, they were surely better than his own.

Thinking on these things would not help him, yet Kai could not help but wish Rei would laugh like that again, and he be the cause.

"Well I'll see you next Tuesday, then," Emily said with finality and remarked how pleasant it was to meet Kai, who tuned into the ending conversation as he heard his name.

"And if you come into work looking the least bit ill, I'll send you right home again," Emily called to Rei as they left the office.

Kai smirked. He wondered about who, in a battle of wills, would be the more stubborn.

They were nearly at the front door of the restaurant when Tyson stopped them.

"Hey! You can't leave without saying goodbye!" He panted as he caught up to them. "Oh look, it's been raining again." He poked his head outside and noted the wet pavement.

"So, I spoke to Max about the chilli, and he said he'd use less from now on, so maybe next time you work we should eat together and properly sample his cooking, hey Rei?"

Tyson nudged the other young man as he spoke, full of energy, probably due to the plan that 'sampling' meant 'all-you-can-eat'.

Rei laughed, and noted in the corner of his eye that Kai was clenching his jaw. He wondered whether it was because of Tyson who could be perceived as an annoying person, or for some other reason. Rei didn't want to fantasise about that at present though, and yet his mind couldn't help but drift to when Kai had called Mariah 'jealous'. Was Kai the one being jealous, now? He was pretty sure Kai hadn't been talking about friendships at the time… Did Kai even have any friends? He just didn't seem the type.

Rei was reminded of how little he actually knew of his companion. He felt that perhaps that theirs could be one of Kai's first friendships in a long, long time. He didn't pity Kai, just felt an aching empathetic desire to ease the loneliness that came from experiencing the same circumstances of life.

"… so Emily told me to put my apron back on and at least _look_ like I work here, but I told her to take her bossy attitude and put it you-know-where because-"

Kai cleared his throat in a slightly menacing way and Rei decided he'd save Kai from Tyson's mere (seemingly aggravating) presence, and himself from the embarrassment of Tyson realising he hadn't been listening.

Rei glanced at his watch and in a polite manner conveyed to Tyson that they would see each other soon, and of course they could stuff themselves with a Max-made buffet of de-chillied foods.

Tyson nodded with excitement and was even waving farewell to Kai, who looked thoroughly miserable again, and ran back inside, calling out that he hoped it wouldn't rain for a second time so soon because he didn't want Rei to catch another cold.

Rei chuckled to himself and Kai muttered something about self-centred, contemptible idiots as they walked back to the bus stop, only to see a bus just driving away.

Rei groaned, knowing they'd have to wait forty minutes until another one, and then at least ten more because the bus was bound to be late.

"Do you want to walk instead?" He asked, remembering his theory about Kai's supreme fitness.

Kai was impassive, and Rei began to explain in a rambling way about the futilities of public transport. When he realised that Tyson's babbling nature was rubbing off on him, he also noticed that Kai had begun to walk, and that he had followed.

"All the way to Mariah's, then?" Kai stated more than questioned.

Rei blinked, and raked a hand through his long hair, finding knots.

"No, we can go back to my place, now I've got a key. I was wondering why you would know which direction to walk in."

Kai gave a small smile and kept going, and chose not to voice his opinion of Rei's shiny black strands.

He found it was an effort not to blush.

That thought itself made him rein in his self-control, and a quiet beeping from his pocket was enough to sober him fully.

He pulled his phone from his pocket, and slight surprise showed on his face, and the expression was mirrored on Rei's as he answered the call.

"Yeah?"

They had both stopped walking now.

"Mmm… Alright."

Rei studied Kai cautiously. Was something wrong? Kai was willingly conversing – using his phone!

"Thanks."

Rei let out a breath, understanding that the person calling must be one of those few people that Kai said 'actually cares'. Rei felt a swell of that feeling again, the one that had distracted him back at the restaurant. He instinctively moved closer to Kai.

"Yeah, let me know. Bye."

Kai hung up.

"Is everything okay?" Rei asked, genuine in his concern.

Kai mumbled something, which was clearly to be taken as an assent, and continued walking, putting his phone as quickly as possible back into his pocket. Rei did not fail to see the strange pinkish tinge on his cheeks. He felt his own warm, and decided that he would not invade the stoic young man's personal space again, or feel that weird compulsion to reach out and comfort him.

Rei's thoughts were again disrupted as they came to a pedestrian crossing.

"I forgot that I don't know where we're going," he heard Kai say, and tired not to read into the fact that Kai was avoiding looking at him.

"You lead," Kai said without emotion and Rei did so, observing that the sky was filtering into an orange colour that corresponded with the traffic light in front of them.

-

They were a couple of blocks from Rei's apartment complex. They had not spoken a word except for when Rei directed them once through a busy intersection close to the train station they had been at earlier in the day.

His legs were a little tired, as they had been walking for nearly as long as it would have taken to wait for the bus, but Kai did not look even minutely fatigued. Either it proved Rei's musings of fitness regimes, or Kai was so unemotional that a complaint never crossed his brow.

Both notions one would have fitted Rei's perception of Kai's persona, and they walked past an expensive-looking restaurant, Rei especially slowly, as his stomach rumbled obtrusively.

Kai glanced at him and a shadow of smiled shifted across his features.

"Come on," he said almost to quietly for Rei to hear, and gestured them both into _Nogarotto's_.

Rei felt underdressed as he entered and saw the lavish dinner outfits many of the patrons were wearing. He shrank behind Kai, who seemed to have no qualms about sauntering into such a place dressed in such casual clothes.

It was a large room, with expensive leather-lined chairs and a small wall fountain water feature near a counter behind which waiters prepared drinks. Around the room were freshly green, ferny plants set upon pedestals in a variety of decorated, thick terracotta pots. Small lights were ensconced around the walls, and a centrepiece chandelier glittered from the middle of the ceiling. Placed around the room were several classical paintings of serene landscapes, and expertly positioned mirrors made the restaurant appear even more spacious.

Rei had often gone right past this fashionable eatery, with its culinary awards and wealthy clientele, but he had never gone inside. The option of dining there never even occurred to him, as he rushed by some evenings to get to work. Dazzling reviews in local newspapers could not guide an appetite based on small wages.

Kai, however, stalked right up to the maitre d' who looked quite busy asking some superior customers in a large group celebrating a birthday if their wine was to their exact liking.

The man, with a bushy moustache and thick accent, looked like he was about to scoff a refusal to Kai's request for a table, when Kai flipped out his wallet and showed him something.

Rei tried to see what it was – a business card of some sorts – but couldn't quite make it out. The man was immediately flustered and apologised profusely, ignoring his previous customers entirely to personally show them to a table for two in the corner with the water feature. He quickly removed a small 'Reserved' sign that had been placed in the centre of the highly polished rosewood table and pulled out leather-bound menus for them both to peruse. He practically bowed his way back to his lectern-looking greeting stand near the front of the restaurant.

"Well," Rei said emphatically, his eyes wide at the luxury of the place as well as the strangeness of his being there. He glanced in one of the mirrors and saw a tall man in a brown overcoat being shown to a table across the room. "How did you do that?"

Kai raised an eyebrow, as though asking if he really wished to know. Rei's unchanging expression implied that he did.

Kai shrugged nonchalantly.

"I know people. People who know the head chef, Nogarotto."

Rei's mouth formed a large 'o' shape.

"Have you eaten here before, then?"

He shook his head without consequence.

"What are you going to eat?" He asked instead, pulling a menu towards him, leaving Rei feeling that he was being intentionally directed away from more questioning. But Rei respected Kai enough not to pry further, knowing no reason why Kai _should_ be forthcoming about his apparent (and yet secret) wealth and connections.

Rei refused to think on the idea that they might have developed some sort of 'relationship' that involved trust and a truthful sharing of personal details. A pair from the hearty birthday table were whispering and looking pointedly in their direction, and Rei blushed then stared determinedly at his menu before realising he had no idea what any of the dishes were.

"Uh… Kai?" He asked, feeling stupid.

Kai was muttering through the names of some of the entrées, as though planning for a banquet.

"What are you having?" Rei figured he'd just order the same food, although 'I'll have what he's having', or 'the same for me, thanks' might sound inane to these upper class waiters.

That strange near-smile ghosted over Kai's face again.

"Well there's the _Salmone Tricolore Alla Griglia_, which is usually grilled salmon with stuff like peppers and onion… Or there's _Frutti Di Mare_ which I've had before –a good seafood pasta – but I have enjoyed caesar salads, though I guess it depends on how fresh they deign to make their _Insalata Di Cesare_; I prefer it with chicken…"

It seemed he knew exactly what Rei had been thinking. And he wasn't putting him down for it.

That feeling rose up in him again, becoming familiar now, and it told him that Kai only had to choose to be pleasant, and he did it. 'Nice' wasn't in a vocabulary of Kai-descriptions, but Rei felt content as he listened. It was the most he had ever heard his companion talk in the three days they had known each other, and tried to take in as much detail as possible. He felt guilty when he began wondering details irrelevant to Italian delicacies, such as how Kai had perfected his Italian accent, and whether or not he was fluent in the language..

Rei flushed as the maitre d' shoved a lower waitress out of the way to take the order himself and settled on _Fettuccine Alfredo_, something he thought he would like, as Kai chose entrées and drinks for them both. The way he confidently but casually ordered made Rei feel immediately more relaxed, as though they were back in the Thai diner or some other family café rather than a finer cuisine restaurant such as this.

The man's bushy moustache flared as he stage-whispered to the waitress nearby that they were 'special patrons' and bustled off importantly to the kitchens, presumably to inform the head chef himself of their meal choices.

Rei was rather humbled by the experience, and tried to smile at the waitress who suddenly looked rather awkward, and shuffled to a couple on the opposite side of the room.

Rei caught sight of her name badge, 'Hilary', and wondered if it might even be her first night on the job. He knew first hand how hectic the hospitality industry could be, and he sent her an encouraging look as she walked past again to serve someone else drinks.

The girl seemed rather pleased that someone was not yelling their heads off at her, and then glanced in Kai's direction, who stared back evenly at her, and she flushed, walking slightly faster.

Rei then realised how close their faces were, at the exact instant Kai turned to look back at him.

-

-

-

**Reviews** (and coffee) make the writing part of my brain work faster!


	9. Crumbling

A/N: A long wait between updates, and a shorter chapter. Sorry! But thank you for the reviews that kicked me into writing at least something.

-

**The Rain Outside by Munku-JGSPTV**

**-**

Last time: _The girl seemed rather pleased that someone was not yelling their heads off at her, and then glanced in Kai's direction, who stared back evenly at her, and she flushed, walking slightly faster._

_Rei then realised how close their faces were, at the exact instant Kai turned to look back at him._

_-_

**Chapter 9 – Crumbling**

-

Noses almost touching, Rei's heart skipped a beat and he felt his cheeks warm. Kai's stunning crimson eyes looked directly back into his.

He opened his mouth to say something, but found his throat very dry.

Kai edged infinitesimally closer, and Rei could feel his breath on his own, parted lips.

Kai said something, maybe his name, but Rei couldn't quite hear. Everything outside of this small world was muffled; there was only this moment. He was concentrating on the small movement of Kai's lips but could not discern any meaning from them.

Gentle fingers moved onto his left hand, which rested upon the table between them.

Rei saw a faint tinge of red spread across Kai's cheeks.

Kai cleared his throat awkwardly and looked away. He blinked, as though trying to make a feeling disappear.

"And whose was the tomato bruschetta?" A voice came from somewhere above them and made Rei jump back. The maitre d' expertly slid the entrée onto their table and mentioned something about drinks before bustling away again.

Rei wondered if the man knew what he had just interrupted. He had an uneasy feeling that the moment was irretrievable, and grabbed Kai's hand. The other young man was determinedly staring down at the table, refusing to meet his eyes.

Rei tried to speak, but Kai shook his head.

He didn't let go of Kai's hand.

Kai looked at it.

"Not here," was all he said, implying that they'd talk about it later. His eyes darted to the other diners that could have been watching.

Rei exhaled with no small relief, and was able to relax slightly, his racing heart slowing.

"Rei…"

He looked up at Kai, whose inscrutable expression revealed nothing.

"I'm going to need my hand back so that I can eat."

Rei pulled his hand back immediately, and fumbled with a serviette, trying to ignore the enormous blush on his face.

Kai quirked a small smile and moved bruschetta to his plate.

-

Kai offered to pay, and Rei was very glad of it, as he was sure it would take at least a month of his wages to cover the cost of such a lavish meal.

They had spent the rest of the meal mostly in silence, but it hadn't felt too awkward, Rei decided.

"I'm very sorry, sir," the waitress named Hilary bowed politely to them as Kai returned.

"What's the problem?" Rei asked.

"Card won't work," Kai muttered in response and pulled out his wallet again.

The maitre d' appeared and shoved the lesser waitress out of the way so he could apologise personally.

"There must be something wrong with our machine, or someone has made a careless blunder," he paused to sneer pompously at Hilary, "However, I would never dream of asking you to _pay_ for your meal. This has been a grievous mistake, indeed, Mr Hiwa-"

Kai narrowed his eyes, a wad of cash held out in his hand.

"No, no!" The maitre d' shook his head vehemently. "You are a special patron, sir, and are our free guest at any time you wish to dine here."

Rei was astounded, and a vague thought wisped through his mind of the possibility of dragging Kai along so he could eat there every night.

Kai, however, seemed keen to leave as soon as possible.

"Come on, Kon. Thanks."

He nearly pulled Rei by the wrist, walking away quickly.

Rei smiled at Hilary and gave her a thumbs-up.

"Great service!"

She looked embarrassed, and after they left, Rei could see her being lectured by the maitre d' through the front glass doors for giving their prestigious guests a bill.

Rei took in a deep breath of fresh night air, and saw that Kai was still moving fast, in the direction of his apartment block.

"Hey, wait up? What's the rush? I can't run so soon after that dessert… Mmm… that was so nice."

Kai slowed down and turned around to see Rei's eyes shining with a dreamy haze of contentment.

His eyes darted around, his mind still on the failure of his credit card, but seemed to relax.

"Can I crash at your place?"

Rei was startled out of his daydream.

"Of course. I thought that we had already… Well, I guess since your card isn't working… hotels around here are pretty expensive…"

Kai smirked at his ramblings and started walking once more, this time more slowly.

They reached Rei's apartment after passing by Brent on the stairs, who commented that Mr. Dickinson would be back from his honeymoon soon.

The lifts were out of order, and as his apartment was only on the second floor, they took the stairs. Rei moved more slowly than Kai, feeling like he had eaten a bit too much, and more than he had probably ever managed in a week.

They arrived at Room 243, and Rei suddenly remembered the way in which they had met. He felt heat spread over his face and was annoyed with himself, but stuck the key in the lock, opened the door, and flicked on a light.

A few cabinets haphazardly hugged the walls of the small room, papers strewn across them in a careless way. The small sitting room had a couple of old couches and joined to the kitchenette, which looked to be the only clean space in the apartment, although quite empty. There was a short hallway to the right, which led to the bedroom and bathroom.

Satisfied that everything was still in place, although there was a strange odour coming from one corner of the room, Rei put his key down on top of a cabinet near the door so he wouldn't lose it again. He twisted his head back to call Kai over so he could give him a tour, but the other young man wasn't in sight.

For a moment, he became worried, remembering what he had said when he first saw Kai. _"I'm going to go into my apartment now, and you're going to be gone as soon as I've opened the door."_

Did Kai suddenly run away?

The front door was closed.

"Kai?" He called hesitantly.

"What?"

They were shoulder to shoulder, Kai right beside him, on his other side.

Rei jumped back in surprise.

"Sorry, I thought that…" He shook his head, then saw that Kai was holding something bright orange in his hands.

"Kon, what is this? A present from Mariah?"

Rei snatched it from him, and brought it close to his chest.

"This is my tiger piggy bank." Rei checked to see that it hadn't been harmed. He heard Kai snort in mirth.

"It's not from Mariah. But I guess it's something she would give to me." He placed it lovingly back in its place on a small coffee table.

"It was given to me by my uncle, a long time ago." He paused, remembering.

Kai looked at him impassively for a moment, then broke Rei's reverie.

"Can I use your bathroom?"

Rei showed Kai where it was, and then carefully replaced his beloved tiger piggy bank, giving it one last fond pat.

By the time Kai returned, Rei had dug out some spare blankets and was spreading them across the larger of the two blue couches.

"I'd offer you my bed, but my room's really quite messy and -" Rei blushed, realising what he had insinuated.

"Here," he said, shoving a large cushion into Kai's hand, indicating the couch.

Kai quickly settled himself in, stretching out, finding the couch quite soft despite its tattered appearance. Like everything else in Rei's apartment, it seemed old and second-hand, and there was no colour coordination between all the furniture. Kai mentally shrugged, feeling comfortable enough, although his toes dangled off the other end of the couch, which was slightly too short.

Starting to feel drowsy and content after the large dinner, Kai closed his eyes, but Rei's voice filtered through his tiredness.

"Want a drink or anything?" A fridge door opened. "Uh, actually, the only thing I can offer you is water… or lettuce. Yeesh… OK, you can't have the lettuce; I'm throwing it out – it's gone all limp and brown…"

Kai snorted from beneath his blankets. He heard Rei yawn and shut the fridge.

"Just go to bed, Kon."

Kai rolled over, pulling the blankets up past his shoulders.

The light clicked out.

"Good night," Rei said softly, and received a tired grunt in response. He smiled and stood watching his new sort-of-friend for a moment, before padding down the hall to his room.

-

Rei had spent hours tossing and trying to find a comfortable position in which to sleep. By the morning, he did not feel very rested but knew he must have had some sleep. Thoughts of Kai had kept him up, and he wasn't sure if what had nearly happened in the restaurant had been a dream or not. But he got dressed and found the other young man still asleep on the couch.

Trying to move quietly, Rei investigated the kitchen, knowing that there was nothing edible in the fridge, but feeling his stomach growl hungrily. After peering into several cupboards that constituted a normal person's pantry, Rei sighed and sat down at the small square dining table.

He would have to go shopping.

Mindful that he didn't have much cash left, Rei knew he would have to return to work soon, and for many long hours, before he could have time to himself and take a weekend off again.

As though Kai could hear his thoughts, there was a rustling sound from the couch, and the young man awoke, pulling the blankets away suddenly and sitting up.

"What time is it?" Kai asked, even as he pulled out his phone, completely awake and ready for the day.

"Uh…" Rei said unintelligently, casting his eyes about. He was still tired himself, and he only had a clock in his bedroom.

"8 AM," Kai muttered, flipping his sleek phone closed again. "Must have been really tired…"

He stood up, stretched his arms above his head in a relaxed way, and turned to find Rei absently staring at the region of his stomach where his shirt had lifted when he stretched.

"Uh, Kon?"

Rei was startled.

"Yes! Well, there's not even cereal for breakfast, so I'll have to go to the supermarket… It _is_ a Sunday but there's a large shopping complex nearby and it's not that far to walk so I could get some groceries and be back to-"

Kai was smirking at him.

"You're rambling again," he said, and Rei grinned sheepishly in response.

"I'll come with you," Kai announced, and put his phone in his pocket. "I have nothing better to do."

Rei nodded and then grabbed his bag so that they could head out, Kai trailing closely behind him.

-

Kai's expression was priceless.

It was as though he was completely stunned, but trying to hide it.

"Haven't you ever been in a supermarket before?" Rei teased.

Kai didn't reply.

Rei pushed the shopping trolley across the aisle, where there were packets of two-minute noodles.

"You can actually buy this stuff?" Kai asked.

Rei laughed.

"You've never had two-minute noodles?"

Kai shook his head.

"I always had full meals made for me, growing up, back at the-" Kai stopped abruptly. "Never mind."

Rei knew better than to probe him further. He had his suspicions that, although Kai may have been brought up in a very rich household, he had not had a normal happy childhood.

Instead of speaking, he reached up and pulled down a few of the cheaper noodle packs.

Rei gave his friend a small smile, and they continued shopping. Kai seemed continually amazed at the range of products yet he did not question anything again. Rei was beginning to think that Kai had, in fact, never been to a supermarket before. Exactly how _had_ Kai lived, before they had met? Rei wondered.

He also thought of that half-started conversation last night at the restaurant, and the feelings that hadn't been quite expressed. He watched Kai carefully, trying to pick up any hint of nervousness about the other man when his own heart raced as their hands brushed as they both reached to pick up the same bottle of milk.

"Sorry," Rei said quickly, withdrawing his arm. Kai said nothing, but he did seem a bit quieter after that, if it was possible.

Soon enough, they had a trolley half full with an assortment of vegetables, meat, rice and other ingredients labelled 'on special' that Rei would use for cooking.

When they were lining up to pay, Kai's phone rang.

Rei was now accustomed to the strangeness of his friend never answering, and Kai acted as though his pocket wasn't beeping at all.

"Don't you want to know who's calling?" Rei asked casually.

Kai frowned, and he was gazing with boredom out the front glass doors that looked out onto the car park. A black car was causing some traffic congestion as it attempted to find a park.

"I have a special ring tone set for… So I can tell," he said shortly, and then they were at the checkout.

Rei shrugged and began lifting his purchases out of the trolley so they could be scanned by a short boy with a mess of brown hair and large glasses.

Kai's phone rang once more and then was silent.

"That'll be seventy one dollars and ninety five cents," he said when all the products had gone through.

Rei was pulling out his wallet when Kai shoved his credit card into the register operator's hands.

"Hey, you don't need to-"

Kai gave him a glare and Rei flushed, part of him still wanting to insist on refusing the help, but the other half of him incredibly grateful.

"Thanks," he muttered as the card was swiped.

The machine made a strange beeping noise, and a mother in queue behind them cursed as she and her three children were held up.

"I'm sorry, sir, it appears that this card is not valid. Do you have another one or would you like to pay in cash?"

Kai narrowed his eyes.

Rei glanced quickly between them and out of the edge of his vision saw some men in black suits who seemed to be security personnel.

"Look, Kai, it's fine, I have enough to cover this…"

Kai still seemed angry but held out his hand to take his card back.

"I'm sorry, sir, but policy says I must destroy any card that is…" Shock suddenly entered the boy's face, and beneath his hair, his obscured eyes, seemed to be darting between the name on the credit card in his hands and Kai. He hesitated in using the scissors ready to slice the card in half.

"Kai… Hi-Hiwatari?"

The boy's hand shifted over to a phone beside his cash register.

Rei was confused, but Kai seemed to know that something bad was about to happen, and he ran from the counter, out of the automatic glass doors of the shop's exit.

Only metres away, the men in suits that Rei had taken to be the store's security men swarmed in. Outside in the car park, a door of the black car with the tinted windows swung open. A man with dark glasses stepped out.

Rei stared, helpless, as Kai tried to make a break for it.

Rei knew that his friend would be a fast runner, but the men in suits grabbed him and dragged him to the car, shoving him inside.

Gaping, Rei watched as the doors of the car slammed shut and it sped away, out of the car park, and all too soon, out of view.

Rei was left standing there, the woman with children still making annoyed noises behind him, and the boy behind the counter frantically on the phone to his manager, waving the credit card about

Feeling suddenly alone, Rei didn't know what to do.

-

-

Please, if you want more of this story, review! And if you add this as a 'Fav', it's only fair that you make at least a short comment! I know who you are….


	10. Tumbling

AN: Sorry if you think it's disappointingly short!

-

**The Rain Outside by Munku-JGSPTV**

Last time: _…__the men in suits grabbed him and dragged him to the car, shoving him inside._

_Gaping, Rei watched as the doors of the car slammed shut and it sped away, out of the car park, and all too soon, out of view._

-

**Chapter 10 - Tumbling**

-

Having no idea what had just happened, Rei handed over some cash for his purchases and grabbed the shopping bags. He walked quickly from the shop, although he knew that Kai was long gone.

Who were those men in suits? Why would they want to practically kidnap Kai?

Sighing, Rei shook out his hair and began the walk back home.

All too soon, he arrived at his apartment. Alone.

Feeling a bit strange about entering his rooms by himself for the first time in nearly a week, Rei jangled the key in the lock then made his way inside. He carefully placed the key on top of the cupboard next to his tiger piggy bank so he wouldn't lose it.

He methodically put away items in the fridge and cupboards and down on one of the couches, then suddenly realised Kai had slept on it the night before.

Annoyed that he was feeling so sorry for himself, Rei determinedly tried to think of a range of things that weren't Kai while preparing some two-minute noodles for lunch.

They had barely known each other, after all, and Kai could be a high-profile criminal for all he knew, by his connections with men in dark suits that seized people into cars.

Grumpily munching on his microwaved chicken noodles, Rei kicked his legs up onto the coffee table and switched on his small television, which had poor reception and gave every image a layer of coloured fuzziness.

It was the end of some midday entertainment news show, and Rei chewed on a dehydrated vegetable that was supposed to be a pea while the host garbled on about the identity of some illegitimate love child of celebrities.

Rei, meanwhile, was a world away. He wished he could stop thinking of a certain someone, and tried to distract himself with planning out the rest of his week. Work tomorrow, then Tuesday, then work on Wednesday, and hopefully the late night shift on Thursday… His boss had told him not to come back before a week of recuperation from his flu symptoms, but Rei honestly had nothing better to do, not since Kai…

"…Hiwatari heir rediscovered!"

Rei's ears perked and he stared at the screen, which showed a serious-looking gossip reporter with a splash image of a familiar face.

"This is just in - exclusive news of Kai Hiwatari's rescue and return to his anxious and distraught family. In fact, in our special segment tonight at 8pm, we'll be seeing a rare interview with the Hiwatari patriarch, who reveals his inner turmoil: was his grandson held as a ransom to bring down the company, or did he just run away from the pressures of high society?

Rei's eyes went round.

Hiwatari. Hiwatari _heir_.

Rei tried not to swear.

A millionaire. No, a billionaire.

Rei, poor, simple and boring Rei had spent the last week in the company of Kai _Hiwatari_. The person due to inherit the country's largest and most wealthy conglomerate that owned production and business everywhere, including cars, restaurants, banks, agriculture, retail and shares.

How had he not realised?

Well, he didn't pay much attention to the public lives of those who lived in such a different world; a world of glamour, freedom and easy spending.

Kai hadn't seemed like that, though.

Truth to tell, Rei wouldn't have had a clue what any of the Hiwatari family looked like. But surely he would have noticed that there was something.. different about Kai! Then he remembered the small things, the things that had seemed slightly _off_. Kai had never answered his phone – it was probably whoever was on the manhunt for him. The credit card had stopped working – had it been cancelled? Or traced?

Come to think of it, surely the powers-that-be had some kind of satellite tracking systems for mobile phones. But, maybe, Rei realised, Kai was just _that_ rich he could afford a non-traceable phone.

Groaning, Rei covered his face with his hands. And, at that café, there had been a news report – a missing persons report… His mind went back, and to his own dismay he remembered the tiny television screen as they waited for their meals. A segment on an elusive billionaire heir… Rei had had fish and chips, and Kai had eaten quiche…

Rei stood up, feeling a bit disorientated and went to get himself a glass of water. At that café, had their card machine really been broken? Or had they managed to trace Kai, and cancelled the card after finding out where he was – that Rei was even an accomplice in whatever schemes a young Hiwatari on the run might get up to?

Kai had said, before being at Mariah's, that he stayed at a hotel. Were those men in suits, most likely working for the Hiwatari currently in power, following Kai even then, just waiting for an opportunity to seize him?

And at that restaurant, there had been people who had recognised Kai for who he was – that party of surprised birthday celebrators, and even the shocked, pompous maitre d'. Although, it didn't seem the maitre d' had known Kai was… had run away from home?

Rei tried to recall what else had happened at the restaurant, aside from that near-kiss that made his insides squirm and his neck feel warm.

… Kai had explained about all sorts of Italian dishes, he mentioned vaguely that he knew the head chef – well now Rei knew what _that_ meant. Kai's family probably owned the place! That would also be the reason for the waiter's simpering obsequiousness and subservience. What else… a table to themselves… a man in a brown coat. That man!

Rei hadn't paid much attention to him at the time, but now it seemed odd that anyone would wear such a grubby old thing and not take it off in a fancy place like _Nogarotto's_.

Had Kai realised he was being tailed? And were those people really underlings of the Hiwataris, or were they hired by someone else – someone worse, out to capture the heir, to hold him ransom even?

Well, nothing was certain to Rei anymore, particularly his feelings about Kai, except the knowledge that the young man did not want to be a Hiwatari. He had been trying to have a life away from all of that – that money and notoriety, and his own family had abducted him back.

Rei put down his glass of water, having drunk barely any of it. These thoughts were getting him nowhere. He did not have enough information, and was only feeling more worried about Kai. There was nothing he could do, anyway. Kai was plainly back where he belonged.

Rei turned off the television, and went to his room.

He was feeling suddenly tired beyond explanation, full of confused thoughts and emotions, and he curled up into a cat-like ball to sleep.

Still anxious, he yawned and drifted off into dreams, a distant part of him wishing he knew Kai's undisclosed phone number so he could call him.

--

When Rei awoke, it was Monday.

He felt thoroughly rested, but when he pulled apart the curtains to bright morning light, he felt tense, remembering what had happened.

Rei took a long shower, forced down a large breakfast, picked up his key and went outside.

His feet seemed to be moving mechanically, his mind determinedly blank, and when he looked up from the pavement, he found himself at the letterbox of Mariah's house.

He let out a sigh, but then a sense of hope built up in him – had Kai escaped and come here? The thought was absurd, and Rei knew it was a false hope, but he knocked on the door, wishing Mariah, if not Kai, to be there, simply for company.

"Rei!"

Arms launched themselves around his neck. White and pink ribbons twirled elaborately around brightly coloured hair. Mariah.

"Hi," Rei greeted in a defeated sort-of tone, and Mariah stood back to look at him.

Her eyes scanned his face, and seemed to find something broken in his expression.

"Come on in," she said in a suddenly serious voice and took him inside, sat him down and prepared some green tea.

Rei winced as he glanced across the small sitting room. Kai had slept here, too. How many other places would Rei be continually haunted by, with the memories of a young man who had captured his every attention?

They sat in silence for some time, and though Mariah appeared to be waiting for Rei to speak, he said nothing; he simply stared at his small cup of tea and breathed in its calming and familiar scent.

"Well?" she asked.

Rei did not want to meet her gaze. But, having known Rei for as long as she had, Mariah knew when and what _something_ was bothering him.

"He's gone back to his world, his real world, Rei."

He shot her an accusing glance. He knew she was trying to be comforting, yet all he could think was that Kai's supposed 'real world' meant a world entirely without young, black-haired, poor, working-class friends.

"I haven't seen him since you brought him here," she said gently, and Rei was sorry for being annoyed with her – although she was nauseatingly over-friendly and imposing sometimes, Mariah truly was his friend.

"I thought you knew."

Rei sighed again and took another sip of tea. He stared at the tiny leaves, the dregs left in his cup.

"I didn't."

Mariah shook out her hair and then refilled his cup without any indication from Rei that he may or may not want more.

"Listen, I know you don't watch TV much, but I was sure you knew who he was. There have been missing persons reports, articles in the newspapers – even posters around the place suggesting that there's a reward if the Hiwatari heir was found and brought in."

Rei felt an edge of shock pervade his dull denial.

"I mean, I didn't even recognise him at first, either, Rei. But then I assumed you must have known who he really was. I'm not trying to be critical, but I thought myself foolish – how could I have not realised – and then I decided that you were smarter than me, you must have known his identity but wanted to keep him around anyway."

Rei felt angry.

"K-keep him around? He was my friend, Mariah, not some stray puppy dog who-"

"I know, Rei, I _know_. He seemed a bit cold to me, but I guess that's because he can't trust many people. I don't know why he was on the run – maybe he had done something terribly illegal." She held up a hand to stop Rei's defensive protests. "But he must have been wary that one of us would have turned him in for the reward money. In fact, coming from his rich status, he probably thought we'd need it."

Rei was even more downcast.

"But even if I had known, I wouldn't have traded him for the money. Surely he'd have known that."

He looked forlornly at his friend, as though asking for assurance.

Mariah simply stood and went to wash out the tea pot.

"You knew him better than I did."

Rei pulled his hands through his hair. _He thought he did_.

"Look, I think you should put it all behind you. You were so sick last week, and you're finally feeling better. Weren't you going back to work tomorrow?"

"Yeah," Rei said absently.

He stood also, and helped the woman who was practically his sister with the cups at the sink. She was being mature about all of this; he should as well.

After doing the drying up together in silence, Mariah pointed him to his old bedroom.

"Why don't you stay here for a little while? I'll make some lunch for us."

Rei smiled at her and toed his shoes and socks off, grateful for her hospitality.

He pulled out a change of comfortable clothes he could laze around in and looked around the small room. Previously he had been frustrated that she kept this room for him; now he was glad it felt as though he had never left. Practically the only thing missing from making it more homely was his tiger piggy bank. Mariah kept this place much neater than his own, too.

She allowed him to help with preparing lunch, a simple Chinese soup, and they sat at the table to share it.

Although he supposed he should not bring up the topic of Kai again, Rei couldn't help it.

"You know, I think he was going to tell me," Rei said.

Mariah looked up at him.

"I guess he was aware I didn't know all about the Hiwatari family. I think he was going to tell me, except - … his phone rang." Rei's face fell. That damned phone, and whoever it was that had kept trying to call Kai. It had probably reminded the Hiwatari heir of exactly why he shouldn't be gallivanting around with commoner strangers.

Rei stirred his soup. He did not want to see Mariah's sympathy.

"Why do you think Kai ran away – his grandfather is the current Hiwatari in power, right? Was he trying to escape from something?"

Mariah put a comforting hand on his wrist.

"There are a few possible reasons."

Rei nodded, and then went back to eating his soup.

"Only Kai could tell us."

-

They had not tied him up – his Grandfather had granted him more dignity than that.

But they ordered him to change his clothes.

"Mr Hiwatari has asked that you be dressed appropriately to meet him," a man with dark glasses had said. The emphasis on the word 'asked' told Kai the request was anything but, and that his current clothes did not befit the proper heir to the family riches and business.

Kai sighed as he buttoned his suit jacket and tightened the tie that was constricting, in an all-too-familiar way.

He had not been allowed outside of the van except to be walked into a building and deposited in a room after being handed the suit. Glancing around the large room, he guessed it to be one of the Hiwatari-owned hotels in a district nearby to where he had been with Rei, considering the shortness of the time in transit.

Rei.

Kai smoothed down his hair. It would not do to show blatant disrespect for his Grandfather by being purposefully scruffy. He cared enough how he was treated for this to matter, at least. It was about looking out for himself, really, rather than anything else. Besides, if he didn't care for his own safety and wellbeing, who else would?

He almost considered trying to get away, but a quick look out the window told him that not even his great fitness would save him from a thirty-storey fall. He sighed again and squared his shoulders.

"I'm ready," Kai said, opening the large hotel room doors out into a long hallway.

He was instantly surrounded by lackeys in suits; those identically featured professional security men that his Grandfather so favoured.

He marched forwards with them, his back straight and his hands calmly by his sides.

They did not take the lift but walked directly up a set of steps that could have been a fire exit. Kai supposed that this was a message from his Grandfather, also.

They finally reached the penthouse, and he knew that inside one of the sitting rooms would be the man he did not want to see.

Kai breathed in suddenly, steeling himself, but wished he could be far away, sharing some two-minute noodles.

-

AN: Thank you for all the reviews and adds to favourites! They mean a lot to me (and help me update much faster)! What do you think will happen next?


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